Stone by Stone
by Talven
Summary: Working title- Part 2 of the Weeping Angel Saga. The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa are in the 51st Century, when they discover that a wealthy business man has managed to capture a healthy Angel. Cameos from special characters.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"_It's a library!" Victoria shouted as she stepped out of the TARDIS._

_The TARDIS had landed in the heart of a massive room where lines and lines of books covered every inch of the wall. The Second Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS behind her, grumbling slightly._

"_Yes, Yes, Yes, it's a library," The Doctor said hastily shutting the door behind him._

_Victoria turned around at the sound of the door shutting._

"_Is Jamie not coming with us?" Victoria asked._

"_No, the last adventure was quite enough excitement for him. He was quite happy to go and sleep some of it off," The Doctor said and put the TARDIS key in his pocket. The last adventure had in fact been quite eventful. He was beginning to greatly dislike the Cybermen. His encounter with them had forced him to come here as soon as he could, as he suddenly remembered the last time he had encountered them had caused him to regenerate, which in turn had led to start thinking of Ben and Polly and the adventures they had, which in turn then led to the memory of Waltham Abbey and the Weeping Angels._

"_So what brings us to a library Doctor?" Victoria asked, always eager to learn about advanced civilisations since her first encounter with the Doctor and the Daleks._

"_This is not just any library Victoria, this is the greatest library in the universe. It holds all the information ever recorded, spanning galaxies and lifetimes!" The Doctor said proudly._

_Victoria looked amazed. She could spend hours here studying any topic she liked, and was already forming some ideas of where to begin._

"_It's the 50__th__ Century, this is the greatest library ever built, pre-passing Alexandria on Earth, and not only that it is constantly being updated to the second," The Doctor beamed._

_The Doctor held her hand._

"_We have landed in the history section of Earth. I need to go and find a specific book. Go and enjoy yourself in this section only," The Doctor said and let go of her hands. He bid her farewell while he travelled to the next department in the history section, which was the history of creatures and beings._

_The Doctor could have got all the information he wanted from his own people, but he had the suspicion that they were still quite annoyed with him for stealing a TARDIS and going on the run._

_He had walked into the section called "Great People"._

_He skimmed over the titles of the books as he walked past- Martin Luther King, Elizabeth I, Rassilon, River Song and finally there was his own book "The Doctor"._

_It was a big book, which filled the Doctor with some hope that he had many adventures and lives left, but he had to be careful not to read further than he needed to._

_He took the book off the shelf and continued on to another section titled "Ancient Creatures"._

_Again, he spent some time searching for the book he needed and went and sat down at a nearby desk._

"_The Weeping Angel" book was pitiful against the size of the Doctor's own book, but this was due to the fact that nobody knew much about them. As far as he was aware, he was one of the few people alive today who had had any dealings with them recently._

_He read the first few pages of "The Weeping Angel" before muttering under his breath about the blasted Eternals and their meddling ways. He knew they'd be involved with the angels somewhere, as they meddle in everything. He turned to the back of the book and took out a pen._

_He opened his own book and was careful to only open the first few pages. He shuffled through the first few pages quickly- the academy, graduation, running away with Susan, the whole Ian and Barbara situation (of which he was still slightly ashamed), the long pages regarding the Daleks. He ran through the pages, unaware that some many adventures had been documented over the years. He made a mental note to be more discreet from now on, though he knew in his heart he was slightly fond of the popularity he gets._

"_Aha, here we are." The Doctor said, finding a page referencing Dodo and the situation at the Smugglers Cave with Ben and Polly. He found an entire page dedicated to the events with Patricia and the Weeping Angels._

_He read the story, feeling sad that Ben and Polly never found out what had actually happened to Patricia, and that she was still in the Church with the three that did this to her._

_He looked at "The Weeping Angel" book and began to write on the back page of the book._


	2. Swimming

Chapter 1

Nyssa was in the swimming pool, lost in her own thoughts.

The Doctor had been subdued the last day, wanting to spend time on his own, the previous events playing on his mind. This meant that Nyssa was left to her own devices. She had already explored different areas of the TARDIS and found a swimming pool in one room and made a note of the directions so she could take a swim later. She explored some more rooms, and found the wardrobe department. She remembered her and Tegan taking a look through the shops on a distant planet some time ago, and found a suitable swimming gear. Swimming on Traken was scarce at best, and her brown dress was certainly not suitable gear for swimming.

She had stepped in the shallow end of the pool as she had never learnt to swim on Traken, and was wading around in the pool, losing herself in the waters with her thoughts.

She felt extremely lonely at the moment. The Doctor was not being talkative at all, and been concentrating on the console all day, even at one point banging and kicking the console in frustration.

Her planet was gone. She was the last of her race, with the exception of her father who had now been possessed by a madman. Her thoughts drifted to recent events. The death of Adric was playing on both of their minds, especially with the Master using his image as deception for her and Tegan. Her mind often went back to the moment she saw the ship exploding in Earth's atmosphere, knowing that Adric was still there and died alone. She made a promise then to never leave anybody to die alone, even if she did not know them. To finish the set, Tegan had found her home and had departed the TARDIS. It had upset her earlier, when she realised Tegan had not even said goodbye, but she hoped one day they would meet again.

She took a deep breath and went underwater. She opened her eyes and saw sights that were beautiful. Lights were swimming back and forth around the pool, and some of the lights were running through her hand. She felt nothing go through her hand, but she had a feeling the light was a part of the TARDIS. She got distracted by the light for a few more seconds, before surfacing for air.

"Ah, there you are Nyssa!" The Doctor said, walking into the room, with a smile on his face. Nyssa looked at him and he was back to his usual self. He was sporting his cricket gear, including his cricket hat, and his decorative vegetable. He squatted down as she moved closer to the edge.

"You really should learn to swim you know," The Doctor said critically, seeing that she could not swim to the side but had to walk in the water.

"A lack of swimming pools on Traken makes swimming a little difficult Doctor!" Nyssa exclaimed, and gave a little splash to the Doctor, wetting him slightly. He laughed, the most she had heard him laugh in a long time.

"We need a break after Adric and Tegan. We're going for a relaxing break in the 51st Century," The Doctor said and Nyssa nodded in agreement. She needed a relaxing break.

"I don't think that relaxing and you mix together, Doctor," Nyssa teased.

"There's a fantastic display going on in the Alfava galaxy of the universe itself," The Doctor said as if Nyssa knew what that was meant to mean. She had no idea where the Alfava galaxy was, nor what the display was.

Nyssa knew the Doctor better than this.

"There's something else going on there, isn't there Doctor?" Nyssa said and got out of the pool.

"Always," The Doctor said and led Nyssa out of the room.


	3. The Exhibition

Chapter 2

"Alistair, you do spoil me," The woman in red said after Alistair surprised her with a lovely meal. How she did love to be spoiled.

She was linking hands with a tall handsome man, dressed in a tuxedo. He was clearly a man of expensive tastes as he had treated his lady to a fabulous meal in one of the most expensive restaurants in the port of Alfava, which had cost more than 5000 credits, however money was no issue to him. He had worked all his life to get to where he was today, and 5000 credits was nothing to him.

The lady herself was also a woman of expensive tastes, and would where she could spend her money in the most expensive restaurants and shops in the galaxy. She had blonde hair, and the dress itself was red all over, her favourite colour.

"Only the best for you, my darling," Alistair said and led her away from the restaurant to a nearby dock. He had a surprise in store for her.

They met only a few weeks ago and fallen instantly in love. They danced the night away in a business party that had been organised by his friend, Doctor Cruces and met every day since then. He frowned at the memory. He could never remember clearly what had happened that night, or how he really met the lady, but he did remember falling in love instantly.

They walked along the docks. The docks itself were floating in space. This was a space station for different ships to anchor for various reasons. The Alfava galaxy has some of the most spectacular displays of nature in the universe. Some other universes were nearby and they displayed natural beauty across the skies. A gravity and oxygen field hung around the docks, keeping it in place in the depths of space. Many people came here for a tourist destination, some others came here for marketing purposes, and tonight many people were coming due to the exhibition.

The exhibition had drawn lots of attention in the upper classes of the universe. The exhibition was a display of everything in the universe that Doctor Cruces could get his hands on. It would be one of the largest exhibitions in the history of the universe, and Alistair had special access to a specific exhibition which he intended to show the lady.

"Miss Can, Out of all the creatures in the universe, what would you think would be the hardest to catch alive?" Alistair asked his date.

Miss Afon Can was a historian and scientist. She had spent her entire life dedicated to different species and the history of evolution. The question posed to her set her mind racing as to all the different creatures in the universe that would be difficult to catch alive. She came to answer just as they reached the giant ship which held the exhibition.

"I'd have to say- a Dalek," Afon Can said, not being able to think of any other creature more difficult to catch.

"You would think wouldn't you? However, it is not. Have you ever heard of a Weeping Angel?" Alistair asked and flashed his identity card to the nearest security guard. The security guard moved to one side and allowed the couple to enter the exhibition.

"They're a myth!" Afon exclaimed.

They walked through to the centre of the room which showed the history of creatures in the Alfava galaxy. Alistair approached a gentleman. He was wearing a tuxedo similar to Alistair, and had greasy black hair and glasses who turned out to be Dr Cruces.

"Alistair, good to see you! And Miss Can again!" Dr Cruces exclaimed and shook Alistair's hand and kissed Afon's hand.

"Thank you, Horatio. I'm here to show Afon the Angel," Alistair said and Horatio grinned.

"Certainly. It took such a long time to catch but I caught it," Horatio said and led Alistair and Angel to a separate room.

The room itself was empty but had a stage, and on the stage was a large red curtain. Horatio went up to the stage and moved the curtains aside to display a stone Angel, weeping into its hands.

"Impossible!" Afon exclaimed.

"I kid you not, Miss Can. This is a live Angel," Dr Cruces told Miss Can.

"What's separating it from us?" Afon asked, knowing her history regarding the Angels. Her mother used to tell her stories about the Angels when she was child.

"There is a large force field surrounding it. It can't get out don't worry. Not even a Dalek could escape this force field," Dr Cruces explained.

"But how did you catch it?" Afon asked, intrigued.

"Took a lot of effort, but I found some in the galaxy Kasterberous. There were five of them and they were so engrossed in whatever they were doing that they did not notice me. I snared it with this same force field. The others fled quickly. They had no ships strangely enough, they could survive in the vacuum of space without the need for anything." Dr Cruces explained.

Afon had heard enough of what she needed to know.

"Please excuse me gentlemen, nature is calling," Afon said quickly and walked out to the nearest rest room.

Her tiring charade was beginning to get some results. She was quite fed up of Alistair now, and her hallucinogenic lipstick had never been used so much in the past few weeks. She had been given this task by the Church in exchange for a pardon if she could accomplish this mission. They knew Dr Cruces was up to something but they did not know what. This was no match for the Church however, this required somebody with experience.

She sent a message through space and targeted the Doctor with the exact co-ordinates. Hopefully he'll answer soon enough. It'll be good to see Amy again too, Afon said to herself.

She thought about her next move and left the restroom. She had spent weeks getting Alistair to trust her and he did not even recognise the name. A dead language not spoken for thousands of years had not even registered in his mind. Afon Can was a literal Welsh translation of River Song.


	4. Discoveries Part 1

The Doctor handed Nyssa the psychic paper.

It was in a brown wallet, much like the Earth wallets where they had a clear sheet in front of one compartment, which showed a plain piece of paper.

"What's this, Doctor?" Nyssa asked inquisitively.

"It's psychic paper. I've never had a use for it before now, and forgot it was in my coat pocket," The Doctor replied, and flipped a button on the console.

Nyssa looked at the piece of paper.

Where there was a blank piece of paper when the Doctor handed it to her, now it displayed a message. It gave a set of numbers, a date and time, and finished off with the message "See you soon Sweetie".

"Somebody sent you a message with the mind, to a piece of paper?" Nyssa asked, curious as to how a message could appear on a piece of parchment.

"Yes, it's not unheard of. Not often used- whoever sent the message used some great technology to get in touch with me," The Doctor said, now typing in the numbers that were on the paper into the TARDIS console. Clearly they were the exact co-ordinates that he needed.

"Who sent the message?" Nyssa asked, handing the piece of paper back to the Doctor. The Doctor refused to take it.

"Keep it, we may need it. Or more specifically you might. I've never had any trouble getting anywhere," The Doctor replied.

"Who sent the message?" Nyssa asked again.

The Doctor looked right at her.

"I'm unsure. Seems to know who I am though, to find me and given they signed it 'Sweetie', implies that I should know who it is," The Doctor said.

"You don't know do you?" Nyssa asked.

"Not a clue," The Doctor replied quickly, "Possibly somebody I have met, maybe somebody in my future."

Nyssa paused. Almost all her adventures with the Doctor so far had started off innocently with a visit to points of interest, and in all cases they had ended with disaster. Alarm bells were ringing in her head that this situation falls under the "impending disaster" category.

"You don't think it could be a trap?" Nyssa said reluctantly.

"A Trap? Only one way to find out!" The Doctor said and the TARDIS stopped.

"Ah, here we are Nyssa. Welcome to the Alfava galaxy," The Doctor said and pulled the big red lever on the console to open the doors.

Nyssa stepped out of the TARDIS onto a platform floating in space. A giant ship was docked here and a queue of people were walking on to the ship. Some restaurants were nearby, every seat taken from what she could tell.

"Doctor, do you think we are under dressed at all?" Nyssa said, looking at her usual brown outfit and the Doctor in his cricket gear. The people walking on the ship were dressed very formally, and she could make out many different species. This was a clearly a high profile event.

"Nonsense! Come along. Best find out who sent me this message," The Doctor said and took Nyssa's hand and they walked up to the raise platform where the ship was docked. She took a quick glance at the TARDIS. The bright blue box was stood in the middle of the 'street' , for a lack of a better word, and people seemed to ignore the fact that it was there. Nyssa assumed that in the 51st century, nothing was considered unusual anymore.

They both walked up the raised platform heading into the heart of the ship, when they were stopped by a security guard by the entrance.

"Tickets please," The security guard said. It was not a question, it was a fact.

The Doctor handed the security guard the psychic paper.

"As you can see, we have been invited-" The Doctor started but was stopped the security guard who handed the psychic paper back.

"Psychic paper will not work. I've had basic training in psychic paper. Tickets please," The security guard said again.

Nyssa looked at the Doctor, who had suddenly had an idea.

"Do you not know who this is?" He shouted at the security guard and pointing at Nyssa, who had jumped when the Doctor had shouted.

"Should I?" The security guard said.

"This is Princess Nyssa of Traken! You should show her some respect!" The Doctor said again and prodded the security guard in the chest.

"Of where?" The guard said, his face remaining impassive.

"Traken! Have you not heard of Traken?" The Doctor said, a bit more sadly as he was hoping the security guard had heard of the planet.

"I think you better leave. Please leave before I call more security," The guard said and shuffled them away but he was stopped by another gentleman from behind him. A smart man, wearing a tuxedo. He had glasses and his hair was jet black and greased back.

"They are here as my guests. Allow them through," the man said and introduced himself as Doctor Cruces.

"I must say that it is a pleasure to finally meet somebody from Traken," Dr Cruces said and kissed Nyssa hand.

"I'm the Doctor, this is Nyssa. So you heard of Traken then?" The Doctor asked.

"Of course! I'm a historian and I must say somebody from Traken would greatly add to the atmosphere tonight. To think, somebody from a planet, a thousand of years dead! I will have to announce you to the room before the display of the Angel," Dr Cruces said excitedly.

"I'm not really an object Dr Cruces for people to look at," Nyssa said objectively, disliking this man less and less every minute.

The Doctor ignored this. He was too preoccupied by what Dr Cruces had just said.

"Angel? What Angel?" The Doctor said sternly. Nyssa had not seen him look like this before. His face showed total fear, and anger was building within him.

"You heard of the legend of the Weeping Angels?" Dr Cruces said, not registering the look on the Doctor's face.

"They're not a legend," The Doctor said automatically.

"Exactly. And I've caught one- alive," Dr Cruces said and beamed.


	5. The Future meets the Past

Chapter 4

Alistair stared lovingly into the eyes of River Song.

"You have the most beautiful eyes, Afon," Alistair said and extended his arm to stroke her face. They were sitting at the bar, both drinking a cocktail of some sorts. River had a Bloody Mary, but when it had arrived, it looked far to red for her liking and had some random lumps which did not taste of tomato. She had hoped that in the depths of this galaxy a Bloody Mary did not include a substantial amount of blood, and for that matter, a substantial amount of Mary. She looked into Alistair's eyes, getting back into character. She had been unnerved by the Angel, and hoped that the Doctor would show soon.

"Oh Alistair, you do spoil me," she said and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. They both sat down and stared at the nearby stage, where behind the large red curtain that was covering it, was the Angel.

"Do you really think the force field surround it will hold it in?" River asked, curious as to know what Alistair would say. She knew for a fact that the Angels could manipulate anything to their advantage, which was why she was so nervous as it could break out whenever it wanted.

"Of course. You heard Doctor Cruces- he said not even a Dalek could escape that force field," Alistair said smugly. He had a part to play in the development of that force field. He had funded the science experiment to develop it, and became so successful he had tripled his money within a week of it being sold to the public.

"Do you know the history of the Angels?" River asked.

"They're stuff of legends. They're perfectly harmless as long as somebody is watching them," Alistair said and took a sip of his Tequila Sunrise cocktail.

Easier said than done, River thought to herself and looked towards the stage again. Doctor Cruces emerged from behind the curtain on stage, followed by a man and a young lady. He seemed to be arguing with the man.

"Oh no.." River said aloud, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"What is it?" Alistair said and got up to see what she was looking at. He saw Doctor Cruces arguing with another man and left the table with River to see what the problem was.

Damn it, River said to herself, This one is far too early. She had to be extra careful now that he does not see her too much or otherwise a paradox may happen. She recognised him as the Fifth incarnation of the Doctor, as she had images of every incarnation of the Doctor. A future Doctor had decided it would be wise for her to know the appearances of every image he had in case she ever bumped into them. She looked at the girl next to him and thought back to what the Doctor had said about his companions, trying to place him in a timeline so that she would know where in his time he is.

She recalled that he had only had three female companions with this Doctor- Tegan, Nyssa and Peri. Only one was here, so she had ruled out Tegan as Tegan travelled with Nyssa and Adric, and for a time Turlough. However, she was stumped as to whether this was Nyssa or Peri, as both had been travelling with the Doctor alone.

They caught up with Doctor Cruces and River was careful to hide behind Alistair as this Doctor could not see her for who she was.

"I demand you evacuate this entire ship!" The Doctor ordered.

"What is going on?" Alistair interrupted and The Doctor looked at him.

"Are you in charge of this ship?" The Doctor demanded, his face red with anger.

"It is my ship yes, but this is Doctor Cruces' exhibition. May I introduce you to Miss Afon Can?" Alistair said but before he could show River to the Doctor, the Doctor interrupted.

"You need to evacuate this ship. The Angel is dangerous," The Doctor said, more calmly.

"Do not be absurd. The Angel is harmless," Alistair said. A light started flickering above his head.

The Doctor stared at it.

"Nyssa, go back to the TARDIS. This is how it happened last time," The Doctor said.

Nyssa!, River thought to herself, That meant that he can't long have left Tegan behind but not yet found her again. Her thoughts drifted away though as more lights started to flicker. River grabbed Nyssa's hand.

"Come on, let's get out of here quickly," River said and started to drag Nyssa towards the exit. The least she could do was protect the Doctor's companion from danger, but Nyssa was resisting.

"Get off me! I'm staying with the Doctor!" Nyssa exclaimed and River let go of her hand.

River sighed.

"Nyssa of Traken, daughter of Tremas who was taken over by the Master. Traken was destroyed by the Master and you are now the lone survivor of the planet. You saw the Doctor changed faces and travelled with him and Tegan and Adric before Adric was killed in battle against the Cybermen and Tegan left to be in Heathrow Airport, London, Earth. Missed anything?" River said to a now stunned Nyssa.

"How did you-" Nyssa started but River silenced her.

"We need to do as the Doctor says and leave now!" River said but it was too late. All the lights went out, and then the screaming started.


	6. Discoveries Part 2

Chapter 5

"Do you think it's safe to come out?" Nyssa asked the mysterious woman.

They were hiding behind an overturned table. River had the sense to flip over a nearby table when the lights had gone out and dragged Nyssa behind it. The screaming had started and glass and items were being smashed all over the place. While she had a chance, River motioned to Nyssa to stay put and be quiet. Quickly, the noise levels dropped. Doors were being opened continuously and River could hear many people leaving the hall. When all was quiet, Nyssa had risked asking the question.

River paused. If the Angel was still here then it would have certainly found them by now.

"I reckon so. Come we need to get out of here before the Angel finds us." River said and helped Nyssa up. She fumbled with her handbag, looking for a torch of some sort so that they could see where they were going.

"What was that?" Nyssa asked. She could see nothing.

"It was the Angel," River said and saw the look on Nyssa's face, "Don't ask. We just need to get out of here."

River pulled out a torch from her handbag and switched it on. The sudden light hurt Nyssa's eyes but she could finally get a closer look at the woman. She was not old, and was clearly someone the Doctor knew as she knew a lot about her.

"Who are you?" Nyssa asked.

"Not now. We need to get out of here." River said quickly, her eyes on something else but Nyssa was not going to be ignored this time.

"How do you know so much about me and The Doctor? Speaking of the Doctor where is he?" Nyssa demanded.

"The Doctor's fine. Now I really think we should start to make our way out of here." River said. Nyssa turned around to see what River was looking at.

Behind them, standing beside an overturned table, was the Angel, already in flight mode. It frightened the life out of Nyssa, as it now looked less like than an Angel than ever before.

"How did that get there?" Nyssa asked, edging back towards River.

"Listen to me. That is a Weeping Angel. It's a dangerous thing- it turns to stone when anybody looks at it. We'll be alright if we don't blink or turn away." River said and grabbed Nyssa's hands.

Nyssa thought about those words for a moment. She recalled a story on that Tegan had once told her about the history of Earth. Tegan had explained that there was once some beings called Gorgons in an ancient civilisation of the planet, and one of them could turn somebody else to stone if they had the merest glance on them. She wondered whether the Gorgon idea came from the Angels.

The torchlight started to flicker. Both Nyssa and River looked down at the torch quickly, but realised their mistake and looked back at the Angel.

It had moved several feet closer to them. Nyssa now feeling the danger involved started to manoeuvre herself through the rubble of the dining hall while River kept a watch on the Angel.

She manoeuvred herself so that they were not facing the Angel, however the power of the torch was fading fast and each time there was a moment of darkness, the Angel was turning around the room with her.

"The power won't last much longer!" River exclaimed. Her eyes were becoming tired now after staring down the Angel for well over a minute, not to mention the alcohol she had before this all kicked off.

Nyssa was almost at the door when the torch finally went out. She ran towards the door, not caring about being careful anymore. Her only instinct was to survive at this point. She could feel River running beside her now- or at least hoping it was River. She reached the doors and ran through with River trailing after her quickly. River slammed the door shut and took a device out of her pocket. She aimed it at the door. Blue light came from the tip and a small whizzing sound. Nyssa looked at the door and saw nothing different.

"What was that?" Nyssa asked, suddenly realising she still knew less about this woman than she did before.

"This," River said and put the device back into her pocket, "is a sonic screwdriver."

"What's a-" Nyssa started but stopped when the door started to shudder violently as the Angel on the other side started to push against the door.

"It won't hold them for long." River said. Nyssa felt a hand grab her shoulder and she screamed. Both River and Nyssa turned around and saw the face of Alistair.

"Afon, I'm so glad you are alive- and the Doctor's companion," Alistair said and gave River a massive hug. At least now I know her name, Nyssa thought to herself.

"Where's the Doctor?" Nyssa asked but Alistair ignored her.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Alistair said and let go of River, who stood stunned at the words. He walked slowly towards the door and outstretched his hands, and gently felt the door as the Angel on the other side was hitting with all its might.

Nyssa started to walk back towards River who took her hand.

"What do you mean, Alistair?" River asked, her hand moving towards her purse to reach for a gun if need be.

"Think of all the research that could come out of this," Alistair said and stroked the door slightly. He turned to look directly at River.

"Imagine if we could harness their speed, their ability to turn to stone- Earth would be victorious against any enemy!" Alistair said and laughed to himself quietly.

"You can't harness a power like that- It's insane Alistair!" River exclaimed at him, realising now the whole event was a set up. Alistair could see that River finally came to the truth.

"Yes, River, me and Doctor Cruces let the Angel out to see how it would react, how it feeds on people and I must tell you the results that came out of it is astounding. It sent one person back to 5,000 years to the nearby planet- astounding!" Alistair said and River noticed the use of her real name.

Alistair gave himself a little chuckle.

"You should have researched into your lipstick a bit more- too much use and it becomes ineffective. It does not matter now however, we are almost ready to depart." Alistair said.

"Depart? Depart where?" River said.

"To Earth." Alistair said coldly.


	7. Interlude

Chapter 6

_Victoria had wondered away from the section she had been told to stay at. She was utterly bored. As much as she loved to know about the future of the Earth, after a few adventures with the Doctor, it just wasn't the same reading them from some book._

_She was fascinated to know about the next century, how there was two world wars and the technological advancements were immense. She would certainly ask the Doctor to take her to the late 20__th__ Century at some point. _

_As exciting as this was however, she felt the need to drift away from the section on Earth and found herself in a section regarding the history of certain species. Massive volumes of books lined the walls as far as her eye could see. She scoured the walls looking for something interesting to read, however all the volumes looked exactly the same and at the same length. She took a second glance when she saw the book, The Daleks Volume MXVII. A certain book however caught her eye. _

_It was smaller than all the rest of the volumes in this section. It was thin, and only noticeable if you were looking at it directly. It was so thin it was a wonder she had seen it. Wedged between two volumes of the Dalek history, she pulled it out. The front cover was preserved perfectly. No wonder, she thought, nobody can find it!_

_The cove read "The Eternals", and she flicked through briefly to the back page. Only 15 pages long, she said to herself, must have been a brief history. She started to read the book, and soon realised it was not a brief history, more an incomplete history._

_She was fascinated to read that nobody knew where the Eternals came from, but they became involved in a war that they could not win. Even the author of the book seemed dubious as to the origins of the war or even the enemy. She read the entire book within ten minutes, with the last section referring to them leaving the universe after a great time war._

_Victoria put down the book and felt sad. For such an advanced race (and she could only assume they were advanced if they could leave the universe), she was sad that there was not much recorded about them. She put the book back on the shelf and went to find the Doctor._

_As she walked, she wandered briefly about why the Eternals would get involved in a war with creatures called "Angels". Surely, Angels were good beings?_


	8. Discoveries Part 3

Chapter 7

"Nyssa!" The Doctor screamed as he was dragged out of the hall. His recollection of events were vague from the main hall. He remembered that Alistair's companion had started to drag her towards the door and he assumed she had got out when the lights had gone out. However, he realised he could not find her when all who had escaped the room were gathered in another dining hall.

Several people were missing, assumed dead including Nyssa and Alistair's friend. The Doctor refused to believe she was dead, but he could not be sure. He could no longer be sure of anything when there was an Angel involved. He found Dr Cruces in amongst the crowd and grabbed his arm quickly and dragged over to a quiet part of the room.

"I told you to evacuate the ship." The Doctor said. It was not a comment. It was a fact that had been ignored by the important people of the ship.

"I-I-I know Doctor, but we had no-" Dr Cruces began stuttering but the Doctor stopped him.

"You knew. Do not deny it." The Doctor said again in the tone of voice that meant it was a fact rather than a comment.

"I-I-I Have no idea what you are on about." Dr Cruces said.

The Doctor looked around. The room was half full of people and some security guards at the other end of the room were finally evacuating the ship and slowly taking people out one by one. Nobody was paying them any attention. News had got around that the creature was on the loose- however many did not know what it was and completely ignorant how close to death they had come.

The Doctor leant closer to Dr Cruces and whispered in his ear.

"You knew exactly what it was and could do. You wouldn't have hunted it down like an animal and caught it otherwise. On that note, where did you find the Angel?" The Doctor whispered.

"None of your business." Dr Cruces said quickly, getting some of his confidence back. He didn't need to listen to this man.

The Doctor turned Dr Cruces around quickly before he could react and held an item on his back.

"This is a high voltage laser gun you can feel against your back. Can you feel the two tips?" The Doctor said and Dr Cruces could. They were perfectly symmetrical. One was higher than the other and some space was between. Dr Cruces nodded.

"All I need to do is grip a bit tighter and red hot laser will come from both the tips. Now please, I'm not a violent person but I need to know. Where did you find the Angel?" The Doctor said.

"In Kasterberous galaxy. Don't ask me what they were doing I have no idea! They didn't even notice us arrive and ensnare one of them!" Dr Cruces pleaded.

"Katserberous?" The Doctor said and released the weapon from Dr Cruces back and turned to face him. Dr Cruces looked down at the item. It was a banana.

"You tricked me!" Dr Cruces exclaimed, anger now boiling up inside of him.

The Doctor put the banana back in his pocket and ignored Dr Cruces' cries of anger. Why had the Time Lords not seen the Angels?, The Doctor thought.

"Tell me- Doctor to Doctor now- why weren't the Time Lords dealing with the Angels?" The Doctor asked and Dr Cruces' eye widened.

"T-T-The Time Lords? But t-t-they-" Dr Cruces started but was interrupted when the security guard came over and told them they need to evacuate the ship.

"Where is your partner in crime? Alistair?" The Doctor demanded.

"He's dealing with the situation." Dr Cruces said- that was all he could say for the moment as he had no idea where he was. He knew he would have gone to research lab to see the results of the Angel being released. Dr Cruces himself had put all the sensors in the room and every single aspect would be under inspection. He had a feeling however that this Doctor would not be happy with the research. Who was this man? Doctor what? Doctor Who? However he also knew that the Doctor would find out sooner or later about the situation.

"So why did you need the Angel?" The Doctor asked Dr Cruces.

Dr Cruces told him.

Dr Cruces summarised from the Doctor's reaction this was not the answer he was looking for.


	9. The Game is On

Chapter 8

**Sorry for the long delay in the next chapter- I can only write at times…three years seems a long time…**

"Tell me, how do you know the Doctor?" Nyssa asked River. They had both been secured in a storage room while Alistair was setting his plans in motion. Neither had put up a fight while they were handcuffed to a pipe in the room, though the fact Afon was smiling throughout their securing to the pipe slightly terrified her.

Nyssa was still confused as to the identity of this woman. Alistair had called her both Afon and River. Nyssa had assumed her real name was River due to the expression on her face when Alistair had said her name. She was still wondering how this woman knew so much about her and the Doctor when they hadn't met her in their lives as far as Nyssa was aware. She had certainly never met her on Traken.

"It's hard to explain." River said while working on opening the door through the switchboard at its side. The moment the guards had left the room, River somehow managed to get the handcuffs off immediately. Nyssa was still in awe by then and only managed to catch the words "prison escape" from what River was saying.

Nyssa leaned on to the wall next to her and looked her directly in the eye and said, "Try me."

River didn't stop what she was doing and merely said, " The Doctor and I go way back. He just doesn't know it yet."

"You mean from his future?" Nyssa asked.

This time River did stop and looked at Nyssa and replied with one word, "Spoilers."

"Am I still with the Doctor when you knew him?" Nyssa asked, curious to know if she would spend the rest of her life with the Doctor.

River didn't answer. It was difficult to explain things in such a short space of time- her history was complex and she had no idea where to begin when the door finally slid open. There were no guards posted outside their door. Silly mistake, River thought to herself.

"Come on, let's find the exit and leave the ship. You have to get to safety or the Doctor will never forgive me." River said and grabbed hold of Nyssa's hand. Nyssa had no idea what River meant by this, and she had now accepted she will never find out about this woman. This woman was clearly formidable and knows the Doctor quite well- and that was good enough for her to trust her. What other choice did she have.

"I think we're a few levels down from where we were so it is just a case of finding a set of stairs," River said as they left the room but stopped suddenly. Nyssa saw instantly what the problem was.

At the exit stood the Angel, its hands covering its face as if it is crying into its hands and was ashamed.

"Don't blink. Don't take your eyes off it while I find another route," River whispered into her ear and Nyssa remembered the hall. The lights started to flicker again.

"How did it get down here?" Nyssa asked, not blinking. A slight burning sensation was starting in her eyes.

River shouted from behind her, "Give you three guesses."

Nyssa quickly looked at River working on the door behind her. Nyssa remembered that she shouldn't have looked away and turned back to the Angel. The Angel was now inches away from her- its face in a snarl, no longer looking like an angel. Nyssa started to panic but then suddenly felt a hand in her hand and a whisper in her ear saying "Run."


	10. Celebratory Drink

Chapter 9

Alistair was impressed with the results so far. The Angel had totally exceeded his expectations. The results would certainly come in handy when it comes to designing new weapons and armour, he thought to himself, and was already thinking of the amount of money he would get from the results. He would go down in history for capturing an Angel alive, even if it was not himself who caught it but Dr Cruces. Money, he said to himself, can change who goes down in history and who does not.

He poured himself a glass of whisky from his cabinet in his office. He took a small sip of the drink and it tasted sweet. The drink tasted sweeter than usual, but Alistair put this down to the fact that the results were so incredible that everything tasted better. Alistair walked back to his desk and viewed the results once more on his screen.

When the Angel had been brought abroad, he had a biodata stamp placed on the Angel. Granted that when the Angel was being viewed there would be little results, he was curious to know how it functioned when it could move freely. He knew the stories about the Angel. The fact that Dr Cruces caught one amazed him. According to Dr Cruces it was dormant and allowed itself to be caught. A thought niggled at the back of Alistair's mind but he dismissed it- the Angel was here and his pet. It could be tamed.

The results were interesting to behold. He had them sent up from the research lab immediately after securing River and the young lady.

When viewed, nothing could damage the Angel, except maybe a supernova or thrown into a star. Alistair guessed that maybe being dropped from a very great height as stone would probably destroy an Angel as well- but was unable to try this without destroying his only specimen. When it was able to move freely, it could travel at exceptional speeds and was incredibly lucid. Very little energy was spent when transporting somebody to the past, and the results showed that the energy spent was replenished immediately.

It had only managed to send a handful of people back into the past but the results were always the same. Alistair switched the screen to the current footage of the ship and leaned back in his chair. He took another sip of his drink and smiled watching the two ladies run through the corridors and not far behind was the Angel. He paused the footage to get a good look at Angel in action.

Alistair felt a slight pity for the women it was chasing after. The Doctor's companion was just a victim of wrong place at the wrong time. If she had not followed River then she would have likely have been safe but that could not be helped for now. River Song he would gladly see the back of. The deception was enough for Alistair to want her gone from his life, alive or dead it did not matter to him. The lipstick had started to wear off a week ago and the deception was clear.

Alistair remembered the night the lipstick had not worked. He remembered the last few weeks had been a complete lie and when he looked at River Song with his untainted eyes he recognised her immediately. He continued with the deception for the time being as he did not know what she wanted and frankly he was slightly afraid she may kill him. Now with his beautiful pet on the loose after her, he will no longer need to worry about her.

Alistair touched the screen where the Angel stood frozen on the pause screen. He could not wait to set a course for Earth. There was a knock on the door and the door opened ajar. Dr Cruces popped his head through the door.

"Alistair, are you busy?" Dr Cruces whimpered through the door.

Alistair sighed. Despite capturing the Angel, and even capturing was a stretch, Alistair thought, the man was short of annoying. Alistair disliked the man. Alistair employed him due to his research on the Angels, but he did not like him. He found that he did not have the same mentality as him. For Dr Cruces, the use of an Angel for scientific study was a chance of a lifetime. For Alistair, the Angel was money. He was only interested in results that could guarantee him cash.

"What do you want?" Alistair grunted, annoyed at being disturbed. The door opened fully and there stood the Doctor with Dr Cruces.

"Doctor! I'm glad that you made it out of the hall. My sincerest apologies," Alistair said but the Doctor stormed through the door to his desk and was only inches away from his face.

"I warned you to evacuate the ship, and you ignored my warnings," the Doctor said.

"We had no idea this was going to happen," Alistair replied back to the Doctor and started to take another sip from his whisky but the Doctor took the drink out of his hand.

"No, clearly not, seeing as the Angel is on the loose and you are in your office drinking alcohol." The Doctor looked Alistair in his eyes and found all the answers he was looking for.

"Dr Cruces told me everything. You are a foolish greedy man!" The Doctor exclaimed. Alistair scowled at Dr Cruces and vowed he would deal with him later.

Alistair stood up from his desk and walked around to the Doctor and whispered in his ear, "I don't care."

The Doctor was too stunned for words. He had met psychopaths in his time- the prime one being The Master, but he had yet to come across one quite like Alistair.

"My friend was in the hall when you let the Angel out! She doesn't deserve to die nor does anyone else who attended this event!" The Doctor shouted at Alistair. Alistair put up his hands.

"I can safely say your friend is safe, I saw her leave the ship in the mass rush to exit," Alistair lied and walk towards the door.

"Care to walk with me Doctor?" Alistair said and gestured towards the door. The Doctor was uneasy about this. The man clearly has hidden agendas and would try anything. He was pretty certain Nyssa was still on the ship- there would be no way with the amount of people that were on the ship that Alistair managed to see her exit. What other choice did he have at this point? The best option he had at this point was to walk with Alistair while he thought of a plan.

"Dr Cruces remain here. I will need to speak to you. " Alistair said to Dr Cruces. Dr Cruces saw the look on Alistair's face- and it was not good.

The Doctor and Alistair walked out of the office into a long corridor.

"I know you think I am crazy, but I needed some results from the Angel before I take it back to Earth," Alistair said after walking for a few minutes in total silence. He could feel the anger from the Doctor.

"These people are not test subjects," The Doctor said through gritted teeth, "Nyssa is not a guinea pig."

The Doctor and Alistair stopped outside a door. At the other end of the corridor, Dr Cruces was still sitting in Alistair's office. They were alone.

"I will stop you." The Doctor said in a threatening tone.

Alistair smiled and opened the door. Behind the door was a room full of security guards and soldiers.

"Have this man removed from the ship," Alistair shouted into the room and smiled at the Doctor, "I don't think you will this time Doctor. "


	11. Run

Chapter 10

It had felt like they had been running for hours. Corridor after corridor had merged into one and there seemed to be no end to the grey corridors. Each time they took a new turn, there was no knowing if they had already been in this corridor already.

They had tried numerous doors and each one was locked. They had encountered nobody else during their run and it only confirmed what they already thought: this was a set up to get rid of them both.

"I need to rest." Nyssa panted as they turned around another corridor to a similar scene. A long corridor with numerous exits and granted each one was locked. It reminded Nyssa of the TARDIS corridors and the times she used to walk around them with Tegan and Adric. She used to get scared she would get lost but it was never the case. It was as if the TARDIS would not allow them to get lost.

The lights were flickering, trying their best to stay on. It had been like this since they had started running from the Angel. One was running backwards to keep an eye on the Angel, which was more difficult that Nyssa thought. The other would try all the doors, but each time it was in vain.

"We must keep moving." River shouted through her gasps for air. She was not as young as she used to be and this sudden burst of fitness was taking its toll. They could not keep running forever she knew. The Angel was already getting faster and soon it would be on top of them. She cursed herself for not being able to check the systems fully before she forced Nyssa into a run. River could have tripped the systems on the ship and open all the doors, but to do this she would need enough time and time was something that they did not have. The sonic screwdriver could open any door easily but it what was on the other side that worried her. She may trap them in a room with no exit and an Angel on the other side of the door.

Nyssa kept up with River but now there was a small pain in her chest. The running was tiring her out. On Traken, she used to take part in some of the annual games and she was extremely good at running. But this was many years ago, and she has never been forced to run so much in a while. Before long, she would need to stop as her energy was running low and her legs were getting tired.

"What will happen if it catches us?" Nyssa asked River, who was now running backwards to keep an eye on the Angel. The lights were still flickering around them and Nyssa turned to see the Angel was fairly close now and getting closer.

They turned around into another corridor which ended in a dead end. There was nowhere to go.

"Well," River said while catching her breathe again, "it will either kill us or send us back into the past." River looked at Nyssa and saw the look of confusion on her face.

"It's how it feeds." River said bluntly and the lights flickered once more and the Angel was now in plain sight heading straight toward them.

"Guess, we will soon find out." River said and grabbed Nyssa' hand. As she did this the lights went out completely.

Nyssa screamed.


	12. The Long Game

Chapter 11

Dr Cruces watched silently as Alistair and the Doctor leave the office room. The door closed with a loud click and the silence that followed was deafening. Even the normal engine sounds of the ship could not be heard. He was alone with just his thoughts now.

Dr Cruces had held his breathe throughout that entire encounter between the two men. He let out a deep breathe, and sagged onto the chair in front of Alistair's security computer which still held the image of the Angel.

He hated confrontation in general, but this confrontation would end badly for all. In his mind, he was unsure who was the more dangerous out of Alistair and the Doctor. Alistair had lots of money, and was not afraid to do anything to get his own way, even if it meant to get rid of people from under his feet. The Doctor, though he barely knew the man, came across as dangerous. His knowledge of the Angels was enough for Dr Horatio Cruces to realise this was not a mere Doctor.

_I could do with a drink_, Dr Cruces thought to himself- and he saw the bottle of whisky left by the cabinet. _I'm already in trouble so why not_, Dr Cruces pondered and got up and started to pour a strong drink.

As the whisky hit the back of his throat, Dr Cruces remembered meeting Alistair for the first time. He had just graduated from University with a doctorate, and during the graduation ceremony a young business named Alistair came to greet him and shake his hand. Horatio was, at that time, young and impressionable and when Alistair offered to take him on as a researcher, Horatio was over the moon. University had left him with severe debt and the job seemed too good to be true.

"You'll be travelling a lot, barely any time to see friends at family." Alistair had told him, but this was of no concern to Dr Cruces. He was an only child and his mother had died when he was little. His father became a loner after this and would spent a lot of his time just staring out the window of their house, sometimes holding some item of his mothers. He was not supportive of Horatio, and they had not spoken for several years. The death of his mother had caused a strain between Horatio and his father, to the point where they would only communicate when they had to. Horatio turned to books and study to get away from his problems as a child, which started his road to meeting Alistair.

"It's not a problem for me." Horatio told Alistair and they shook hands on the deal.

The job did in fact turn out too good to be true, as Alistair was getting impatient with his finds and research and it was clear he was only after a quick money fix. Horatio had tried to leave on a number of occasions, but after a few threats from Alistair and one "discussion" that end up with Horatio having his wrist broken, Horatio felt it was best to stay and try to appease this monster.

Horatio finished off the glass and poured himself another drink. _I'm essentially a slave doing my masters bidding_, Horatio told himself. He wanted out and quick.

_**Click.**_

The sudden noise made Horatio jump. Lights were beginning to flicker around the room. Horatio walked slowly to the light switch and flicked it on and off. This did nothing to the general effect of the flickering as it was still on going. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a flickering figure by the computer.

Horatio turned instantly and saw an Angel standing right by the computer. Only this Angel was different to the one running riot on the ship. It was flickering, and not a clear image, as if it had come from a screenshot.

Horatio racked his brains and remembered a quote he read once: _An image of an Angel will itself become an Angel. _

Horatio, not taking his eyes off the figure in front of him, walked backwards towards the door. Already knowing the answer, he still tried the door handle. Locked. This explained the click he heard a moment ago.

Before he had time to think, all the lights went out. Horatio thought back on his life, wishing he had taken a different path. He closed his eyes, and waited for the Angel.


End file.
